Journey TO Better Phase 2- Day 12- Learning to Cope with Cultural Injustice & Bridging The Gaps.

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With so much going on around the world, I know it is important to speak about an issue that is by far not a small one, I will not pretend it is not difficult, nor will I pretend it doesn’t hurt. I for one am a very diverse person. Not because I have to be, but because it is such a beautiful life outside of the box of one . One culture, One perspective, etc so on. However I must be honest, many in the great country we live in are not this way. I as a black woman, stand on the shoulders of other great women & other leaders who have fought for my right to exist freely, my right to vote, My right to choose what i want to do with my body, who i want to marry etc. And because of this, i am fearless, Bold, Brave and I refuse to allow anyone to silence my voice & ability to use it. I know that power is in the knowledge you have and utilize , and that’s why my history is so important to my culture. I learned a long time ago, that the schools don’t teach me everything i needed to know about who I was, and where my culture came from, the truth in being proud of being not only a woman, but a black woman. I will be honest with you, I find it really difficult at times to watch movies about slavery, the state of our society, the effects of white supremacy & even the killing of our own, but you know what, I fought past that, I visit museums, i speak to civil rights leaders, and do tons of research of everything the civil rights movement entailed. Not because I wanted to hate other cultures, but because In order for me to be proud of who I am, and be confident in who I was culturally, I had to know my history. All of it, The good, bad and ugly and that consisted more than only Black History month or Martin Luther King Day. What I do know is , to understand our culture you must be educated on our culture, why are we the way we are, remove your preconceptions and actually get to know who we are beyond the lyrics of the songs we sing, the movies & reality shows we make but who are we as a whole.

I come from a family of a great grandmother living to see 104 yrs old & another over 90. Grandparents One in his 80’s other In 70’s. Ive heard the horror stories, seen the scars, and experienced a few incidents myself. So this here is PERSONAL. I try not to write out of unfiltered emotion because I always try to consider other’s even when they dont deserve it. So i will keep this brief.

#Ferguson:

Dear Racist America–

We as a culture are tired. We the  culture who has influenced other cultures are  completely tired. & we are finally taking a stand. It may not be “politically” correct or even “Socially” appealing but we are taking a stand. For centuries we have been stripped  of our TRUTH, we don’t know that we are not who you have taught and programmed us to think we are. You created a foundation of hate against our own causing us to self destruct and kill our own. You cant push a bear in a corner for centuries & decades and think eventually we wont fight back Nor can you control the matter in which we react. This is not just a race war...that is how it began, now this is a cultural/ society war, its affecting more than OUR culture, its affecting any of those who have let go of the ignorance they were taught by racist parents, grandparents and a society that has developed and pushed the supremacist attitude against OUR culture. In 1960’s our Civil rights movement only consisted of US. 2014 We are all taking a stand. Its about fighting injustice, in our streets, courthouses, school systems, and corporate jobs. Not just in Ferguson, But every single urban neighborhood that has been put under the radar. for every wrongly accused, for every unsolved crime done against the innocent & every authority figure that has overused their power to inflict their hatred for our kind. We are TIRED and when you are tired you DEMAND change,I was taught if you don’t stand for something you will fall for anything, and whatever you believe in you must be willing to die behind it,just as Martin, Rosa, Harriet, Malcolm, Angela Davis, Assata Shakur and the many others were willing to do. #TakeastandFerguson#civilrights#WEAREONE

#Journey To Better Phase 2-#BMichavery